Investor · Salt Lake City · Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes
Hey!
I own a house in rose park just west of downtown SLC that has a large mother in law addition on the back. It is a single floor home and the addition was done many years ago by the owner. I did run into some trouble when I originally got the home appraised and they told me I had to take out the back kitchen and convert it back into a bedroom. This was fixed by simply getting another appraisal that apparently didn't mind the second kitchen in the back.
Flash forward 3 years later now ADU's are approved in the area. My question is, should i try and get the back addition approved as an ADU? I currently rent it to my wife's friend and live in the front, but I do plan on buying another property in the near future and keeping it as a rental. Will making it a legal ADU make the situation better or worse? Or is it even possible? I know I could rent it all as one or continue renting it as 2 units, but want to avoid problems or legal issues in the future if possible.
The addition has its own entrance, but also has a connecting door to the front of the house. It is all one structure.
I would love to hear any thoughts or advise if you have had previous experience with this kind of situation.
The ADU Zoning ordinance in Salt Lake City requires that for an ADU to remain compliant that the primary unit on the property be owner-occupied. There are also other restriction written into the ordinance which limit items such total size which an ADU can be, both overall and as a percentage of the occupiable square footage on the lot. As Mike mentioned above it seems that if your plan is to move and rent both sides out that going thru the ADU process might not be worth the time, energy and cost.
I admittedly don't know the most about the ADU ordinance in SLC but from my brief reading of the rules those were the big take a ways for me.
The ADU Zoning ordinance in Salt Lake City requires that for an ADU to remain compliant that the primary unit on the property be owner-occupied. There are also other restriction written into the ordinance which limit items such total size which an ADU can be, both overall and as a percentage of the occupiable square footage on the lot. As Mike mentioned above it seems that if your plan is to move and rent both sides out that going thru the ADU process might not be worth the time, energy and cost.
I admittedly don't know the most about the ADU ordinance in SLC but from my brief reading of the rules those were the big take a ways for me.
Just as you're proposing, TJ, we're considering homes with mother-in-law setups in the hopes of house-hacking for a few years and then continuing to rent it as two units.
Once you leave, due to the requirement of owner occupancy for legal ADUs, it seems getting an ADU permit is not the way to go. Depending on where you're located, you're also not likely able to convert it to a legal duplex due to other zoning laws.
It's clear that many similar homes are being rented out as two units though. Are many SLC/Wasatch Front investors just ignoring these risks and renting mother-in-laws as two units?